They also warned that “worry, grief, or nagging” would cause a woman to run totally dry of milk.

New-born baby? Cover them in olive oil (Getty)

4. Around about 1900, parents were commonly told that it was essential to cover new-born babies from head to toe in lard, olive oil or fresh butter. After two weeks you were allowed to wash down your now fully basted baby.

5. A century ago, women were told the best way to treat nipples sore from breastfeeding was to apply the affected area with boric acid. This acidic compound is nowadays used as an industrial-grade insecticide.

7. In 1999, Education Secretary David Blunkett announced the Superhighway Safety pack. Although the aim of protecting children online was a noble one, the rigid list of approved websites and the demand that parents monitor every click their child made on the internet now seems slightly Orwellian.

8. Accounts of lobotomies are some of the most gruesome tales in medical history and as late as the 1960s, some parents were advised that they were beneficial to their children. The notorious American doctor, Walter Freeman, committed thousands of these grisly medical acts on his patients, including many children.